Conference day: Lectures & Presentations

If you are curious or intrigued with the question, come along and join Maria on a bumpy ride through the maze of biological, sociological, historical and professional views on project management gender styles.

Corpus collosum, navigational relationships, desire to build or win are some of the corner stones on that road.

The EBRD’s Local Currency and Capital Markets Development Initiative, launched in 2010, aims to strengthen local capital markets and to encourage the use of local currencies in the countrieswhere it works. Local capital markets development has always been high on the transition agenda for the countries where the EBRD invests. Local capital markets provide a reliable source of funding, thereby contributing to financialresilienceand sustainable growth.

Together with local authorities, regulators and market participants, we have been working hard to reduce reliance on foreign currency lending and borrowing. The EBRD invests in debt capital-market instruments as well as equity. These transactions promote higher standards of corporate governance while also fostering capital market development and promoting alternative sources of financing.

In 2016, the EBRD signed the equivalent of almost €1.6 billion in 93 local currency loan and bond transactions, 29 per cent of the total number of debt transactions by the EBRD in that period. The newstrategyforCroatiawhich sets out the priorities for the Bank’s work in the country for the period 2017-21 aims at deepening of the financial markets to broaden access to finance, with a focus on capital market development. Furthermore and in line with the objectives of the European Commission's Capital Markets Union initiative, the Bank will promote the development of local capital markets and their integration into global financial markets.

The presentation will introduce blockchain technology, its unique characteristics and the use cases it enables. We will look at some proofs of concept and possible applications in the industry. We will review the technological layers in the blockchain ecosystem (application, service, protocol and infrastructure layer). The presentation will conclude with a review of global traction that blockchain has achieved and a discussion on its future developments.

On a prominent location in Rotterdam, at the Weena opposite the new Central Station, the office building Firstarises, adding a new accent to the city’s spectacular skyline. The site borders onto the Central Business District as well as the 19th century residential neighborhoods of the ‘Old West’. The complex comprises a rectangular base block (35 metres high) and a tower of 130 meters. Multifunctional building structure is the example of complex building projects realized by hi building technology and process management standards. The project is designed entirety according to the latest available sustainability insights and techniques and, when completed, will be certified BREEAM ‘Excellent’

The moment the project starts, an entire “army” of forces exert a lot of pressure upon the project environment. According to the laws of physics, a force is getting stronger based on two triggers: if the “dimensions” of the source exerting that force get bigger or if the acceleration with which the force is applied increases. For the project environment, these “forces” grow using both triggers. For example, on one hand, we have the organization applying more pressure as more areas/departments are depending, are influenced or contribute to the results of the project. And, on the other hand, we have the client of the project who increases the pressure on the project environment by accelerating the demand for results/deliverables as the project gets into implementation.

However, the most important and the most sensitive “element” of the project environment is the project team, which, consequently, becomes the most affected by the above mentioned pressure. And when this happens, people feel threaten, become insecure and stressed. Their performance is negatively affected. They worry more on pushing back and dealing with the pressure than on getting the project done and/or finding efficient and effective solutions to different issues or complex project problems.

At this point, they need protection. They need to know that they are safe and that somebody is making sure of that. And this “somebody” should be their leader, the project leader – the project manager.